Chapter 64: dead men tell no tales
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now for the not so thrilling final conclusion of the dead man's chest arc! The 64th chapter shares the same name of the fifth pirates of the Caribbean movie! the fifth one sucks!
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
The longboats were lowered and the crew of the Black Pearl set off for the island to which they had been lead. Silver, Gibbs, Marty and Cotton stayed behind to hold down the ship, while the Keyblade wielders, Elizabeth, Norrington, Pintel and Ragetti, and of course Jack Sparrow, clutching his jar of dirt like a lifeline, went ashore to end this Davy Jones business once and for all. "So, this Kraken thing," po said, peering over the side of the longboat. "Is it really that bad?"
"Bad?" Pintel sneered, struggling with the rowing. "It swallows ships and devours men! Of course it's bad!"
"Sounds like my Aunt Josephine," Jack Skellington pondered aloud.
"How big is it?" po asked.
"Well, no one really knows, actually," Ragetti put in, also rowing. "It eats everyone before it can be measured. Could be as small as a guppy."
"A guppy that sinks ships?" Pintel asked sarcastically.
"It could have a big appetite!" Ragetti shot back.
They landed on the shore of the island and disembarked immediately. "Mind the boats," Jack Sparrow ordered Pintel, Ragetti, po and Jack Skellington. "And don't touch my dirt." He and everyone else followed Elizabeth onto the beach. As soon as they were gone, Jack Skellington reached for the jar of dirt. "I said don't touch it!" Jack Skellington quickly retracted his hands.
Elizabeth continued to lead everyone with the compass guiding them under the power of her own desires. It was a silent trek, everybody in an all-business frame of mind. Finally, the compass readings suggested they stop. "It's here!" Jack cheered, jumping up and down the sandy spit to which Elizabeth had brought them. "I'd like to thank the useless people for getting the digging done. Namely you guys!" He pointed at Beast, sonic, Aladdin and Norrington. "Step to it! Don't have all day." Grudgingly, the four started digging with the shovels provided to them.
"You'd think I'd be used to things like this," Beast grumbled as he dug. "I'm not."
"Just pretend you're digging his grave," Norrington spat through clenched teeth. "It works wonders."
sonic closed his eyes. "Wow, it does work!"
Back by the longboats, the four guarding it occupied themselves as best they could. "Look at me, Pintel!" Ragetti laughed, amusing himself by balancing a paddle on his hand.
"Oh yeah?" po sneered, balancing himself on one hand while at the same time balancing a paddle on his foot. Ragetti sniffed disdainfully.
They didn't know they were being watched through the telescope of Davy Jones as he stood on the deck of the Flying Dutchman. "They are here!" he snarled angrily, collapsing his telescope. "And I can't set foot on land for nigh another decade. I'll send you to the Locker for this, Sparrow!"
"We'll go in your stead," Hammerhead stated.
"You'd better! Or you'll share the same fate as him!" Hammerhead gulped and nodded fearfully. Davy Jones stalked to the helms deck. "DIVE!" he shouted. The order went out and the crew grasped onto whatever they could, as the Flying Dutchman submerged into the sea once more.
Back and the beach, having seen the huge galleon dive into the ocean, the four boat guards stood with mouths hanging open. Jack Skellington's jaw simply fell off and landed in the sand. The four of them then ran running and screaming to where the others went, Jack making sure to pick up his jaw on the way.
Meanwhile, at the dig site, everyone was doing their own thing while Beast, Norrington, Aladdin and sonic continued to dig. Jack Sparrow had started meditating and Elizabeth was pacing uncertainly. All of this went on until Norrington struck something hard with his shovel. Jack snapped out of his meditative state, and everyone else gathered round. Soon enough, they uncovered a large wooden chest buried deep in the sand. They pulled it out, Aladdin broke the padlock off with his shovel, and they opened the lid. Inside, they found an assortment of things. Strangely enough, the bulk of the holdings were love letters, as well as dried bouquets of flowers but, more importantly, there was another chest.
Jack waved everyone off and pulled the smaller, iron chest out. A strange heart-shaped logo was on the front with an unusual keyhole designed to accommodate its unusual key. Everyone leaned in closer.
THUMP-THUMP
They all heard it. Most of them couldn't believe it. The steady sound of a heartbeat could be heard within the chest. "You were actually telling the truth," Norrington gasped in disbelief.
"I do that from time to time," Jack said grinning. "Well done, love. You found it." Elizabeth nodded in astonishment. "Now, without further ado!" Jack's Keyblade Follow the Wind appeared in flash and he held it above the chest. "What say we give old Jones a heart attack, eh?" He grinned cleverly at his own joke.
"Just do it, Jack," Kairi said urgently.
"Spoilsport." He spun his Keyblade like a six-shooter, held it over the chest, and with a wry smile, tapped it lightly.
"..."
Jack's smile fell like an anvil when nothing happened. Everyone still eyed him expectantly. "Give me a minute, I haven't had rum all day!" He cleared his throat and tapped it again. Again, nothing happened. He tapped it again. And again. And again. He started to hit it. Again and again until he was hammering relentlessly on the chest, grunting and cursing as he did so until he was too tired to go on. He promptly fainted in the sand from exhaustion.
Kairi frowned in confusion. She summoned her new Oathkeeper Keyblade, and tapped it to the chest with the same result. "What the-?" Everyone with a Keyblade tried it on the chest, with every one of them failing to open it.
"Are these things on the fritz?" sonic growled frustratingly.
"No," Kairi said slowly. "They just don't work on the chest."
"What!" Jack shouted jumping back up. "So the one thing these are good for doesn't work the one time I need it to the most!?"
"Maybe I can help."
Everyone spun around to a soaking wet, yet triumphantly standing Will Turner. "Will!" Elizabeth cried in joy. Jack winced and smacked his forehead as Elizabeth ran to her beloved and embraced him. Norrington frowned sadly at the scene. "Oh, Will, thank God you're all right!"
"Yes, I'm alright," Will said coldly, glaring at Jack. "No thanks to Jack. He bartered Sora and I to Davy Jones to settle his own debt."
"WHAT!?" everyone screamed. Kairi rounded to Jack with blazing anger.
"W-What?" Jack stammered helplessly. "Silly Willy! H-His thoughts must be all jumbled! Traumatic experience he's had!"
"Everything you said was a lie!" Mulan accused marching up to him. "Wasn't it?"
"Pretty much," Jack sighed offhandedly. "Time and tide, love."
"Really?" Will snarled. "Because I'll have you know, thanks to all your lies, Sora is now dead!"
"What!" Kairi cried in her horror. She made for Jack, her blue eyes glistening with tears, and would have torn him limb from limb if Mulan had not restrained her. "You monster! How could you? Sora trusted you! He trusted you!" She finally broke down and sobbed openly into Mulan's chest, who regarded Jack with as much hostility as anyone else present.
Beast and sonic leveled their Keyblades at Jack. "I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust you!" Beast snarled through clenched teeth.
"You've finally gone too far," sonic growled menacingly.
"Now hold on. I never meant for the lad to die," Jack said uneasily. "I merely thought he'd be more comfortable as a slave to Davy Jones for a hundred years! I know I would! Wait. No I wouldn't." Will walked up to the chest and revealed the one and only key. He also pulled out an old knife. "Uh, what are you doing, mate?"
"I made a promise to my father," Will replied kneeling down. "Who is also part of Jones' crew! Something else you knew about?"
"You can thank me for reuniting you two later," Jack declared nervously, to which Beast and sonic held their Keyblades closer to his throat. "But, uh, what exactly did you promise ole' Bootstrap?"
"That I'd free him from the Flying Dutchman's curse," Will answered, inserting the key in the chest. It fit perfectly. "By killing Davy Jones!"
Jack's Keyblade appeared before Beast or sonic could stop it, and the galeforce it emitted blasted both of them off their feet. The pirate then held the tip to Will's neck. "Can't let you be doing that, William," Jack whispered. "Need that heart to still be beating."
"Why?" Will growled, backing off slowly.
"Because whoever holds the heart holds the fate of Davy Jones," Jack explained with a sly smile. "Control Jones, you control the sea itself. Imagine. Captain Jack Sparrow. King of the Seas. No one would be able to touch me. Not you, not Beckett, the Chasers, not anyone."
Mulan shook her head. "You're despicable," she spat.
"Sticks and stones, love. Seems like I still have a bit of selfish impulse in me, eh? So, unless you want to be blasted off this island by a tornado, I suggest you step away from that chest." Something happened then, and it wasn't good. For Jack at least. His Keyblade was suddenly engulfed in light, powerful and nearly blinding. The light then faded. Jack's Keyblade was gone. He now held his normal Skull and Crossbones once again.
Jack stared in despair at his old sword, blinking repeatedly as if he was seeing things. He shook it a few experimental times until he came to the conclusion that he was truly, undeniably and absolutely - screwed.
"Oh bugger," Jack whimpered. Will scowled and drew the sword Elizabeth possessed. "N-Now hold your horses! Let's not do anything we'll regret now!"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Will growled. All the sudden, a sword was held to his throat. That sword belonged to James Norrington.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Norrington said coldly, keeping the sword level.
"I knew you'd warm up to me!" Jack grinned. Jack's hopes were dashed when Norrington switched sword point to him too.
"James?" Elizabeth gasped.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth," Norrington growled. "Lord Beckett has offered a full pardon to the man who returns the contents of that chest. If I return it, I'll be able to get my life back." A green blast plasma of energy hit the sand before them, momentarily blinding them.
"Sorry to disappoint you, suckers!" Pete laughed, emerging from behind a sand dune with Gantu, a smoking pistol in the whale's large hands. "Miss us, jerks? Sorry, but if that heart will make Davy Jones do whatever we say, then it's coming with us!"
"Oh, great!" Beast grumbled. "And why do you two want it?"
"Because we'll get our backsides tanned if we don't bring it back," Gantu replied, his blaster loaded for another shot. "Maleficent wants it, so we're gonna get it for her. Now hand it over!" He fired again.
"Reflega!" Gantu's pistol was suddenly knocked from his hand when the laser ricochet back at him. "Sorry I'm late, guys!" Sora stood proud and tall, Keyblade resting on his shoulder, a silly grin plastered on his face. "Did I miss anything?"
"Sora!" Kairi cried in happiness. She ran to him and threw herself into his arms.
"Anyone else out there planning to make a dramatic entrance?" Jack shouted to the sand dunes around them. "You're killing me here!"
"But how?" Will gasped. "You disappeared! And how did you get here so fast?"
"I'll explain later," Sora said, giving a heated look towards Jack. "Is that the chest?" Will nodded resolutely. "You guys aren't going to believe this. Davy Jones wields a Keyblade!"
"What?!" everybody screamed. "How can that be?" Mulan asked.
"He was around during the time of the Keyblade War, he just didn't fight in it. He's lived for years when he carved his heart out. That's why our Keyblades don't work on the chest; he must have made sure the only thing that could open it is the key."
"So he is the guy!" Gantu declared triumphantly. "Oh, Maleficent is gonna love this!"
"Why are you telling us all this?" Will asked skeptically. "What does it matter? I have the key, and I'm about to end Jones once and for all."
"Because, Will," Sora said regretfully. He raised his Keyblade. "I can't let you do that!"
"What?" Will asked in shock.
"Sora?" Kairi gasped.
"Davy Jones was around before the Keyblade War," Sora explained quickly. "He may know something about Xehanort and the Chasers, maybe even how to defeat them! He can help us!"
"You think he'll help you?" Will growled angrily. "I promised my father I'd free him! I can't let you stop me!"
"Look," Norrington growled. "I don't care abut key-swords or whatever they bloody hell you call them! I need that heart to reclaim my honour!"
"We need it to make Maleficent happy!" Pete shouted shaking his fist.
"I just need it," Jack Sparrow sighed. Everyone turned angrily to Jack. It was as if someone rang a bell, and the fight was on. Most went for Will, the possessor of the one and only key, while others went to resolve unfinished business. Swords were swung, fists were thrown, lasers were fired, and everyone else shuffled out of the way as the fight moved away from the dig site.
"Who do we help?" Aladdin shouted helplessly.
"Who cares? I'm going for Jack!" Beast growled with a sadistic smile, jumping into the battle himself. Jack screamed in alarm when Beast came at him, barely ducking under a swing that would have taken his head off. sonic and Aladdin looked at each other, shrugged, and joined in themselves.
"Guys, what are you doing!?" Kairi yelled to them, getting no answer in response. "You're supposed to be friends! Not killing each other!"
"Forget it, Kairi," Elizabeth growled, shaking her head. "They're all just pirates."
Pintel, po and Jack Skellington came running up then. Ragetti was already there watching on the sidelines. "What's all this, then?" Pintel asked, watching the all-out brawl taking place.
"Oh, well here's what I got so far," Ragetti explained matter-of-factly. "Each one wants the contents of the chest for themselves, see? Norrington over there is trying to regain a little bit of his honour back. The fat cat and the walking whale are looking to appease their evil masters. Captain Jack seems to want to rule the sea himself. Master William, I think he's trying to resolve some unfinished business with him and his twice-cursed pirate father. And young Sora desires Davy Jones to help him combat the emissaries of darkness, those Chaser things. Everyone else is in it because they just don't like ole' Jack."
"Wait," po interrupted. "They do realize that the chest is over there, right?"
"Sora would rather fight for the greater good than help out his friend Will?" Jack Skellington gasped. "That's pretty uncharacteristic of him. By the way, where'd Orlando Bloom come from?"
"Sad," Pintel sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Our mate Sora has lost sight of what is really important."
"If only there was something we could do, eh?" Ragetti said.
Pintel suddenly grinned snidely. "Perhaps if some decent soul were to remove such temptation."
"Yeah," po pondered carefully. "But how are we gonna do-" But he found that both pirates were suddenly gone, and were running off into to the jungle with the Dead Man's Chest between them. "HEY!"
"They're taking the chest!" Elizabeth cried.
"What!" Kairi exclaimed in surprise. "Guys! They're taking the heart!" Unfortunately everyone seemed to be happier fighting each other than realize what they had been fighting over was getting away. Kairi rolled her eyes. "Men."
"I think we can handle this, don't you?" Mulan said with a confident smile.
"Let's go, girls!" Elizabeth declared.
"It's mine!" Norrington laughed as he ran off with the key, until he promptly ran into Pete's fist.
"No, it's mine!" Pete guffawed, barely getting a few feet before a sliding soccer tackle from Aladdin tripped him into the sand.
"Actually, it's mine!" Will declared as he picked up the dropped key. He was then lifted off his feet by Gantu, the key snatched from his hand.
"Mine!" Gantu chuckled, and then sonic leapt onto his back and bit into his shoulder. "YEEOOUUCCHH!" He dropped the key.
"All mine!" Sora cried triumphantly grabbing the key in mid-air, when Norrington tackled him to the ground, and then Pete flattened them both afterwards. Jack Sparrow quickly grabbed the key from Sora's twitching hand.
"Actually," he slurred. "It's-" Everyone turned to him angrily, the one person who had the hatred of all present. Jack grinned nervously, before taking off screaming into the jungle, everyone else hot on his trail.
Meanwhile, back on the beaches, the crew of the Flying Dutchman rose from the waters. Sea-monsters armed with swords, axes, tridents and nets emerged snarling from the waves to do their captain's bidding. Sa'luk grinned eagerly as he surfaced, pounding his fist into his armed palm. "Now the fun begins."
Pintel and Ragetti ran with all the speed they could, the chest held tight between them. "What do we do? What do we do?" Pintel screamed as they ran. "Why didn't we think this through? We can't very well leave this island without a ship! This was your idea!"
"I've got it!" Ragetti said proudly. He hefted the chest. "Why don't we ask old Mister Jones to pick us up? He's got a ship. The ship of all ships! The Flying Dutchman!"
"You're right!" Pintel cheered, then frowned. "But doesn't that go under water?"
Ragetti shrugged. "I can hold my breath for a pretty long time."
"Are you two morons?" Suddenly Mulan, Kairi and Elizabeth jumped in their path. Kairi and Mulan drew their Keyblades, and Elizabeth realized that Will had taken her sword. Pintel and Ragetti looked at each other, chuckled, and drew their swords.
They were then both tapped on the shoulder. They turned around to a grinning Jack Skellington, who's grin was quickly replaced with a terrifying shriek from his scaring arsenal. Pintel and Ragetti screamed and threw their swords in the air, where they were both caught by po. "This scare has been brought to you by Pumpkin King Inc. I do birthdays, New Years parties and anniversaries; tell your friends!"
"So now we have the chest," Kairi sighed, glaring pointedly at Pintel and Ragetti. "What do we do with it? We can't open it without the key."
"We should return it to the Black Pearl," Elizabeth replied, her hands on her hips. "At least there it will be safe until those idiots settle upon who gets the key." At that moment, dozens of Davy Jones' crewmen burst through jungle, shouting ferociously and brandishing their deadly weapons. They swarmed through the trees, heading straight for them.
"Or we could run," Mulan noted urgently.
"Running's good!" po stammered. He tossed the two swords to Elizabeth and everybody else bolted.
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind!" Elizabeth stammered, and ran off after them, the monsters screaming for their blood.
Elsewhere, the huge fight between pirates, henchmen, former Commodores, and Keyblade bearers raged on all over the island. They entered a graveyard to an old abandoned mill, its waterwheel having long since lost its use seeing as how the stream had dried up. Pete and Gantu, currently in the possession of the key, ran for the mill with everyone on their tail, until they were all forced to take cover behind the tombstones when Gantu opened fired on them all. "You're not stopping me from getting that chest, Sora!" Will shouted as green plasma bombarded the tombstone he hid behind.
"Will, you've got to understand!" Sora called back. "I'm not just doing it for myself, I'm doing it for everyone!"
"Will you both shut up? It's getting old," Jack Sparrow groaned annoyingly.
"For once, I agree with you," Norrington growled bitterly.
"How bout you all shut up!" sonic shouted. He grabbed a fallen gravestone and threw it at Gantu, knocking the pistol out of his hands.
"OW! Hey! That was a gift!" Gantu shouted angrily. sonic leapt from cover and brought his blade down. Luckily Gantu was able to catch it before it chopped him in two.
"Nice save, Gantu!" Pete complimented laughing, while trying to duck the tombstone Beast chucked at his head. Pete grinned goofily, then slumped forward unconscious.
"Yoink!" Jack exclaimed, snatching the key from Pete's hand and running off to the mill, Sora, Will and Norrington clashing swords right behind him. Beast, sonic and Aladdin stayed behind to fend off Gantu.
Jack ran up the stairs to the mill's bell tower, momentarily stopping to cross swords with Sora behind him. "Give me the key, Jack!" Sora growled.
"You've already got a key! Now you're just being greedy!" Jack snapped, scoring a kick to Sora and knocking him down the stairs. Norrington leapt past him as he rolled by and clashed with Jack himself. "You'd think sailing through a hurricane would do something for one's common sense!"
"Shut up!" Norrington shouted pushing Jack further up the stairs.
Sora and Will were dueling on the lower levels when suddenly Gantu burst through the decaying walls, growling for the key himself. He struck out with his giant fists against Sora and Will on the stairs making them flee higher, dodging his attacks on the way, until Will stabbed him in his massive hand. "OW! Oh, you are so in for it!" Gantu snarled, resuming his attacks in earnest.
As Sora ran upstairs to where Jack and Norrington clashed, he suddenly spotted the rope that rang the bell up above. He shrugged. "Worth a shot!" He grabbed the rope, cut through the support, and the bell fell, the falling weight hoisting Sora higher up the tower. Down below, Gantu could only look up when the bell fell onto his head and got stuck there. It was wedged on there good, he soon found out, and stumbled around trying to get it off.
Norrington managed to fake out Captain Jack and snatch the key from his grasp, nearly knocking Jack from his balance. "By your leave, Mister Sparrow," Norrington sneered giving one poke to send the captain tumbling. Now holding the key, Norrington smiled triumphantly, until Sora suddenly zipped past him, snatched the key, and landed safely on the top level.
"By your leave, Mister Norrington!" Sora laughed from above. Norrington growled angrily, running up to catch the boy.
They climbed out of the tower and onto the old mill's roof, continuing to fight even there. Sora and Norrington competed with masterful swordplay for the key, parrying and thrusting when suddenly Will climbed onto the roof himself and leapt between them, fighting them both at once. It was a deadlocked battle of quick thrusts and slashes where only one could emerge as the victor of the coveted key.
And then Jack jumped on the roof. "Aha!" he cried. And all three of them pointed their weapons at him. "Oh..."
"Gentlemen," Norrington whispered coldly. "You'll have to excuse me while I kill the man who ruined my honour, my reputation, and my life."
"Go for it," Sora growled.
"Be my guest," Will replied.
"Let's examine that claim for a moment, shall we?" Jack interrupted quickly. "Who was it who helped free a notorious pirate captain from your clutches? Who was it that swooped in and took your bonny lass all for himself? Who among us, and think carefully now, really turned you into a rum soaked degenerate that takes orders from pirates?"
"ENOUGH!" Norrington shouted swinging his sword. Jack quickly ducked, snatched Davy Jones' key from Sora, and tumbled off the roof to the ground below. "Unfortunately, Mister Turner, he's RIGHT!" Norrington instantly spun on an alarmed Will, pushing him back until they both stood on the waterwheel. Even then they continued to fight.
Jack calmly dusted himself off, held up the key and grinned proudly. "One man's vengeance is another man's treasure," he remarked snidely. He made to leave when his derriere was suddenly hit by a ball of fire, making him yelp and hop around.
"You're not leaving with that heart, Jack!" Sora declared, Keyblade smoking from his fire spell. "Not without a fight."
"Sora, I wish you were one of those heroes that gives up easily," Jack sighed, unsheathing his sword again. "No worries. You will always remember this as the day you were beaten by Captain Jack Sparrow!"
Pete slowly came to and rubbed his head wearily. "Anyone get the licence plate of that gummi ship?" he grumbled. Soon back to his senses, Pete looked around, immediately spotting Will and Norrington dueling on the waterwheel. "Hey! If you think you're getting that key, you got another thing coming!" He jumped onto the wheel, and the entire mechanism broke free from its moorings. "Uh oh." The dislodged wheel effectively flattened Pete but somehow he still held on as it inevitably began rolling downhill. Without missing a beat Norrington and Will began walking atop it, as well as on top of Pete as he rolled around again. Sora and Jack kept at their own little fight, until it came rolling straight for the pirate.
"Hard head, don't fail me now," Jack whimpered and the wheel crashed into him and carried him along.
"Hey! Don't think you can get away that easily!" Sora called and ran to take after the wayward wheel.
Aladdin, Beast and sonic watched them roll away. "There's no way I'm getting involved with that," sonic pointed out obstinately.
"Wait, they have the key, right?" Aladdin asked.
"Yeah," Beast replied.
"So, who has the heart?" They all looked at each other as they came to this realization, then ran off into the jungle to where the chest was last seen. Meanwhile, Gantu, with the bell still stuck on his head, stumbled around blindly, trying to unwedge it until he walked into a tree, and coconuts piled down on top of him.
po yelped and ducked from Hammerhead's axe then quickly slashed him across the back. "These guys are worse than the freaks in Halloween Town!"
"I take offense to that!" Jack Skellington cried, swinging into a monster's leg and tripping him up. "We're much freakier in Halloween Town!"
"Where's the chest?" Elizabeth cried, fending off monsters with two swords. "It's what they're after! We can't let them get it!" She spun her swords backwards and thrust them under her arms, impaling two monsters at once.
"We got it!" Pintel shouted, he and Ragetti still carrying it, when suddenly a crewman kicked it out of their hands.
"We lost it," Ragetti whimpered. Elizabeth tossed them each a sword, and they both stabbed the monster through the stomach.
Mulan jumped back from Sa'luk's golden clawed swipe. "I tell ya, this job has its ups and downs!" he chuckled, and made to attack again, when something diverted his attention. A giant wooden wheel rolled into view, Will and Norrington sword fighting atop it, Pete wearily holding on, Jack Sparrow's legs flailing wildly outside it, and finally Sora chasing after it. Sa'luk and Mulan stared with slack jawed confusion, but Mulan recovered the quickest, nailing the man in the face with her Keyblade.
"Jack, take the heart and get out of here!" Mulan yelled urgently.
Jack Skellington perked up. "Can do!" He grabbed the chest and ran off through the jungle, the others covering his escape.
Jack Sparrow was pushed out of the wheel and inside of it, now running like an exercising hamster. Pete, having been flattened and stepped on multiple times already, finally let go of the wheel. "I don't get paid enough for this," Pete whimpered. "OOFF!", he gagged as Sora ran over his huge gut; he then lay still on the ground. He wouldn't be getting up for a while.
With a final sprint, Sora grabbed onto the wheel and vaulted himself inside it, snatching the key from a surprised Jack. "Ha!" Sora sneered. Jack sniffed and crossed swords with Sora once again. Around the wheel they tumbled, up, down and around again, never stopping their dizzying duel. Atop the wheel Will and Norrington kept their deft defying balancing act, fighting and fencing every inch of the way, until Norrington tripped his opponent and Will stumbled, only recovering by launching himself inside the wheel, instantly joining himself in Sora and Jack's fight. It wasn't long before Norrington jumped in, too, and now all four fierce, determined men rolled around clashing steel. It was a never-ending joyride of nauseating turns and dangerous swordplay.
While Sora was occupied with Will, Jack struck Sora's hand with the flat of his blade, relinquishing his hold on the key where Jack caught it. With the key in his possession Jack jumped from the wheel, just as it hit a steep hill and rolled faster and faster, the three left inside screaming as they were forcibly carried away.
Jack, dizzy from the whole experience, shook himself clear. "Why is the rum always gone when you need it the most?" he muttered. At least he had the key. Then he realized through all the horseplay that he didn't have the chest.
As if the heavens heard him Jack Skellington ran into view, carrying with him the Dead Man's Chest. Jack Sparrow raised an eyebrow, picked up a coconut from the ground and hurled it at Jack Skellington's head, knocking it off his shoulders. "Oh, it happened again," Jack Skellington's head sighed. His body, meanwhile, dropped the chest and stumbled around blindly. "Alright, we're gonna have to work together here! Follow my voice! Wait, what am I yelling for? I'm the one with the ears." Jack Sparrow strode in then and went straight to the chest. "Hey, Jack! You think you can help me out?"
"I'll get right on that, skeleton mate," Jack Sparrow assured, inserting the key. "But first things first." He turned the key. A series of bindings and locks came undone, and the chest opened. He peered inside. There it was, still beating healthily, Davy Jones' living heart.
"I thought it would be one of those floaty Heartless hearts," Jack Sparrow muttered surprisingly. "This is much grosser!" Jack frowned and spun around. Suddenly, dozens of Davy Jones' monsters burst into the clearing, shouting and snarling. "Bugger! This is where rum would come in handy." He placed the heart in his pocket, gathered the chest and ran before they caught him.
"Hey! Weren't you going to help me?" Jack Skellington called after him, until he also heard the monsters coming. "Quick! Play dead!" he yelled to his body. "What a minute, I am dead..."
Jack Sparrow ran like the devil was nipping at his heels, which could very well be true since he now knew Davy Jones was onto him. "Things can only get worse before they get better," he kept saying to himself. He screamed when a monstrous creature leapt from the trees above him, and impaled its weapon right in his path. The Yautja drew up to its full height and stared down at Jack menacingly. "I wasn't serious!"
As the Yautja growled and drew his gauntlet blades, its attention was suddenly diverted, mainly to the snarling sea-monsters that were coming right at them. "Oh! Yes! Over there!" Jack cried, pointing to the approaching beasts. "You'd get along great with them!" The alien hunter roared, drawing its staff and its blades and charged into the fray, slicing and dicing them mercilessly. Jack gagged at the mess he was making, and ran off for the beach before he could witness anymore.
He ran out to the beach and to the waiting long boats. "Jar of dirt! Jar of dirt! Help me, jar of dirt!" he shouted. One of the longboats held his precious jar of dirt, which he opened in a jiffy, and put Davy Jones' heart inside, burying it with more dirt. "Tia, I could kiss you if you didn't scare me so much!"
He was about to cast off when Pufferfish exploded out of the water, swinging his sword. Jack dodged and rolled, grabbed an oar and smacked the creature across the face. Crewmen rose from the waves all around him. "How can this get any worse?"
On cue, Elizabeth and his old Keyblade pals emerged from the forest. "There he is!" Elizabeth shouted.
"He's trying to ditch us again!" Kairi yelled angrily. Jack slapped his forehead and looked to the heavens in despair.
"You're playing with me now!" he shouted to the Man above, drew his sword and dove into the monsters.
"Oi! Let me down! I'll kill you! I kill you soon!" The Yautja had never had a problem with his trophies still talking after he removed them but he wished he had thought of that as he carried Conchhead's conch head. "Wait! Put me down! Put me down or I kill you!" Just he was about to throw the thing away, something caught his eye. A giant wooden wheel sped down a hill heading straight for the beach, three people screaming and spinning inside, including the one he was destined to hunt. A deep growl escaped his mandibles.
Back at the beach a huge fight had broken out between the heroic heroes and Davy Jones' awful crew. The heroes were skillful and vigilant but the monsters just kept coming. "How many of these guys are there?!" Kairi shouted parrying another sword.
"Enough to fill a ship that goes underwater!" po yelled back.
"Where's Sora!? He should be helping us!" Beast growled. Yet another group of crewmen charged from the beach, when they were suddenly all bowled over by the incoming waterwheel. It slowed as it entered the beach shallows, then finally toppled to a stop.
Sora wearily crawled his way out first, grinning dizzily, before throwing up in the sea. "Alright," he groaned, wiping his mouth. "I'm ready!" And he promptly fell in the water. Will and Norrington emerged in a similar fashion, stumbling and falling like drunks. Norrington managed to make his way to the long boats and grasped onto the side before he fell again. As his blurred vision cleared he immediately saw the chest, as well as the letters of Marque, right beside Jack's jar of dirt...
The monsters began to close in on the weary heroes. "I don't see us getting out of this!" pointed out Kairi as she helped Sora along.
"What do we do?" Elizabeth worriedly asked. A terrifying roar split the air for all who heard it. The Yautja hunter burst from the jungle with staff drawn, charging straight for Sora, taking down anyone in his path; namely Davy Jones' crew. They were slashed, punched and impaled and soon they all surrounded him, completely forgetting everyone else.
"I say we take advantage of this ironic yet fortuitous circumstance," Jack said pointedly.
"Aye Aye!" Pintel and Ragetti agreed. They all piled into the boats. Sora, Kairi, Will, and Elizabeth in one, Jack, Mulan, po, Pintel and Ragetti in the other. Any past quarrels would have to be set aside until they were out of Jones' clutches.
"Wait, where's James?" Elizabeth asked.
"And the chest? Where is it?" Will yelped.
"Gee, missing chest? Missing former Commodore? What are the odds?" Jack grumbled sarcastically. "Not to worry though," he said, patting his jar of dirt. "Heart's as safe as it was in a chest, only this time it's in dirt!"
"What about Jack Skellington?" Sora demanded. "And Aladdin and sonic? We can't leave them!"
"They'll be fine," Jack assured, ordering Pintel and Ragetti to the paddles. "It's us they're after, not them."
"You mean they're after you," Mulan growled grudgingly.
"Me? You? We're all a big happy family here! We'll pick em' all up once we're done negotiating with Jones, savvy?"
Elsewhere, Norrington ran for his very life from more of Davy Jones' crew, the chest held tightly in his hands. Just as he was gaining headway, Hammerhead and more monsters emerged before him trapping Norrington between him and the rest of the monsters. The first-mate grinned cruelly. "I will enjoy prying the chest from your cold, dead hands," he sneered.
Norrington considered his options and gulped. "Here you go!" he stammered before tossing the chest in a surprised Hammerhead's hands, then running off into the jungle. The crew cheered as one and patted Hammerhead on the back, and with the chest, made their way back to the Flying Dutchman.
In the meantime, the heroes reached the Black Pearl and scaled the rope ladders the crew had put down for them. "I hope you lads found what you were looking for," Silver said as he helped haul them aboard. "Because Davy Jones is breathing down our necks, and let's just say we don't like the smell."
"Complications arose, ensued, and were overcome," Jack replied nonchalantly, assuming his captain role once again.
"So you got the heart?" Gibbs asked hopefully. Jack grinned happily, patting his jar of dirt. "Perfect! We're in the clear now!"
Sora walked up to Jack. "So what happens now?"
"Now, we coerce with ole' Davy," Jack answered confidently. "Now that we hold all the cards, I don't see as he'll be bothering us for quite awhile."
WHOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHH
The Flying Dutchman burst from sea not more than twenty feet away from the Black Pearl. The terrifying amalgam of sea life drifted along side them, it's crew of sea creatures and monsters jeering and laughing at them from across the way. Davy Jones himself stood at the forefront, his octopus head twisted into an angry scowl.
"Lord, deliver us," Silver gasped in horror.
"Now that's a ship!" Kairi stammered.
"What do we do?" Elizabeth asked desperately. Jack Sparrow smiled fearlessly.
"Not to worry, love. Watch and learn," he replied confidently. "Oi! Squid-face!" Everyone recoiled in horror. Davy Jones, meanwhile, raised a slimy eyebrow as Jack held up what looked like a jar full of dirt and started dancing and singing with it. "I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt! Guess what's in it?"
Jones rolled his eyes. "Shut him up," he growled to Hammerhead. The first-mate immediately shouted orders, and the cannons were rolled out. Jack's smile quickly fell. The Black Pearl's crew watched in terror as more and more cannons were aimed at them, just itching for the order to be cast.
Jack blinked. "Run."
"HARD TO STARBOARD!" Gibbs screamed at the top of his lungs. Silver immediately manned the helm and turned the wheel to the full extent of his cyborg arm. The Pearl made a sharp turn, just as Davy Jones gave the order to fire. Cannon fire bombarded them soon after. Well placed shots sent men flying into the water and to the depths, but soon they managed to sail out of range.
"Hard to starboard! Give chase!" Davy Jones yelled. "And let them taste the triple-cannons." The Dutchman swung round after them, and the two demonic mastheads on the ship opened their mouths to reveal an imposing triple-cannon mechanism. Each time one fired it swivelled round so another could fire instantly. Now cannonballs pounded on the Black Pearl's stern as they desperately tried to escape this nightmare.
Sora climbed up onto ship's backside along with Beast. "You ready?" Beast shouted.
"You know it!" Sora called grinning back as more cannon fire came their way. Together they swatted away any cannonballs that came too close with their Keyblades. Soon enough, even the Flying Dutchman couldn't compete with the legendary speed of the Black Pearl, and they sailed out of range of its cannons.
"Look! We're getting away!" Kairi cried, watching as Jones' ship grew farther in the distance.
"We're the faster?" Elizabeth asked.
"Aye, against the wind, the Dutchman beats us," Gibbs explained. "That's how she takes her prey. But with the wind we rob her of her advantage!"
"Break off pursuit!" Davy Jones ordered as the Pearl sailed further out of range. "Run out the lights and douse canvas! It's time we send his beloved Pearl back to the depths!" Upon orders from the captain and the sting from the Boson's whip, the crew began winding the great hammer...
As the crew celebrated their miraculous escape Jack emerged from his fetal position, still with the jar of dirt. "If we're going to negotiate with Jones, we've got to do it now," Sora said.
"Agreed," Jack grumbled. "Thinks he can shoot at me and stay in my good graces, he's wrong! I'll give him a piece of my mind."
"And free my father?" Will growled expectantly.
"Yes, yes. That too."
"And you give us the map after," Kairi told him.
"Alright, I get it! You all want something. All in due time. The new King of the Seas has many trying duties after all."
Suddenly, the entire ship was shaken by an enormous tremor and everyone fell to the ground, so much that Jack dropped the jar of dirt and it shattered on the lower deck. Jack slapped his cheeks in horror, and ran down to retrieve it. "What was that?" Mulan shouted as she recollected herself.
Pintel stared over the railings. The entire ship had stopped moving. "We must've hit a reef!"
But Sora and Will knew better. "It's not a reef," Sora gulped. "It's the Kraken! Jones has summoned the Kraken!"
Jack Sparrow dug desperately through what was left of his jar of dirt, tossing aside sand and glass to find the heart. Except it wasn't there. "Where is it? Where is it?! Where's the thump- thump!?" To Jack's terror, distraught and horror all rolled into one, the heart of Davy Jones was gone. Meaning his bargaining chip was gone. Meaning...he was a dead man!
Jack slowly stood back up and slinked off elsewhere.
"Calm down!" Will shouted to the panicking crew. "I've seen it before, and it is terrifying. But that doesn't mean we can't beat it!"
"Will's right!" Sora shouted in agreement. "It's not invincible, nothing is! Get ready!" The pirates, knowing that there was no escape anyway, took up arms. If they were going down, they were going down fighting. "It'll attack from beneath us. Make sure you stay away from the railings!"
"What do we do?" Mulan asked as the Keyblade bearers gathered.
"You guys take the front. We're gonna need a lot of firepower." They ran off to do just that. As Mulan rushed to join the preparations, something out at sea caught her attention.
Not far in the distance, but growing smaller, was a lifeboat. And in that lifeboat was Captain Jack Sparrow. He was rowing for all he was worth to get away from Black Pearl. Mulan could see it, but for some reason, it was just so hard to believe.
"You coward," she whispered. The ship shook violently again, and everyone was knocked off their feet.
Sora ran to the railing and peered over. The water was beginning to bubble. "It's coming! Everyone get ready!" As he turned back, he staggered backwards as he came face-to-suction with a rising tentacle. They crawled out of the water one after the other, slithering their way up the sides of the Black Pearl, bunching them in, surrounding them, cutting off hope for escape. No one made a move.
"NOW!" Sora yelled, and everyone charged. They attacked the tentacles in earnest, cutting them as fast and as many as they could. And the Kraken attacked back.
"Aye, have at ya, monster!" Silver hollered hacking at tentacles with his sword-arm. "I'll cook ya and serve ya in me next stew!" He spun and his arm switched to a laser pistol which shot right through a tentacle, sending it lifelessly to the deck.
"Yeehaw! Get along, little Kraken!" po cheered riding on one of the tentacles like a bucking bronco. "Whoa!" The tentacle bucked him off.
"Don't let go! Don't let go!" a man screamed desperately. Gibbs held on to the man tight against a tentacle that threatened to drag him off. Despite his best efforts the man slipped from his grasp and was lost to the Kraken.
"There's too many!" Gibbs shouted.
"Keep fighting!" Sora shouted as he swung his Keyblade once more.
Meanwhile, a few leagues away and getting farther, Captain Jack Sparrow rowed his tiny longboat to the island in the distance as fast as his arms could manage. He stopped to take a quick breather, downing a swig of rum, and inadvertently looked upon his ship at the brave heroes giving their all to combat the monster that threatened it. And they were losing. He frowned. A strange feeling welled up inside him then. Guilt? That was unusual for him. So he did what he always did when confronted with a dilemma, and this one didn't involve rum. He took out his compass and flipped it open, letting the needle determine his fate.
His eyes widened in surprise at the result.
"They'll be no living with them after this," he muttered.
Beast finished tying two tentacles together, only for another to spring up in their place. "There's no end to this! We're just not doing enough damage!" All around men were being snatched up and dragged down below the water, or simply crushed as tentacles swept their way across the deck.
"Sora!" Will called, pulling the boy aside. "Is there a way for you to combine the power of all your Keyblades? Focus them into one big blast?"
"Uh, maybe? I don't know," Sora stammered. Such a thought hadn't occurred to him. "I guess it could work, but-"
"Then get ready! We're going to need a big one!" He then ran off to help Elizabeth. Sora clenched his teeth, the gears in his head turning, until an idea was formed.
"Mulan!" he called to the female warrior. Mulan had just severed another tentacle when she heard him. "Aim for there!" He pointed above in the air, where the mass of the tentacles had gathered. She didn't understand, but trusted Sora enough to nod. She fended off the rest of the tentacles around her, and aimed her Keyblade at that spot.
Then a tentacle slammed into her and knocked her to the deck. She gasped in pain and got up as soon as she could, only to see her Keyblade was no longer in her hand. Frantically she looked around, and spotted a hint of orange that was her Hidden Dragon, all the way on the helm's deck.
She jumped to her feet and ran with all the speed she could muster, dodging tentacles, splintering wood, dying men the whole way. Surrounded by so much chaos she couldn't concentrate enough to simply summon it back to her. So she was running all the way when, suddenly, a tentacle wrapped around her leg and dropped her to the floor. Luckily, Silver's sword arm cut clean through it before it dragged her off to a watery grave. She had no time to thank him as she bolted up the steps and dove for her mystical weapon, when someone's boot suddenly stepped on it. She looked up, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Jack..."
There he stood, Captain Jack Sparrow, silhouetted against the bright sun, more heroic and determined than she had ever seen him before. He was...breathtaking. He looked down at her, then at her Keyblade and he took it in his hand himself. With careful aim at the mess of tentacles, he gathered the energy, narrowed his eyes, and fired a massive fireball.
"NOW!" Sora shouted, and he, Kairi, Beast and po aimed their Keyblades and shot fire spells of their own. Their four small ones collided in mid-air with the massive one Jack had blasted. The chain reaction ignited a massive explosion, and the Kraken shrieked when its tentacles were caught within it. Burning chunks of flesh showered the Pearl, and the injured tentacles retreated back into the ocean, along with every other tentacle it still possessed. It was quiet once again on the ship.
po took one of the burned Kraken chunks in his hand and took a bite. "Not bad," he said with a full mouth.
Everyone emerged from the wreckage. Gibbs, Marty and Cotton slowly drew themselves out of the rubble. Pintel and Ragetti peeked out from under one of the fallen black sails. The Keyblade bearers finally got their moment of rest. They were all that remained of the crew of the Black Pearl.
"Did we get it?" Sora dared to ask.
"No, it'll be back," Gibbs whispered dreadfully. "And it'll be mad. Orders, Captain?" Jack was silent for quite some time.
"Into the longboats," he soon said. "Abandon ship." That he had actually said this left everyone reeling.
"But, Jack...the Black Pearl," Sora gasped.
Jack smiled sadly. "It's only a ship, mate," he replied, looking at it again. "Only a ship..." Sora nodded understandingly.
"He's right," Elizabeth agreed, looking out towards the islands in the distance. "We have to make for land."
"That's a lot of open water," Pintel said worriedly.
"Lot of water," Ragetti agreed.
"We have to try," Mulan declared. "We can make our escape as it takes down the Pearl."
"Aye, abandon ship," Silver nodded sullenly. "Abandon ship or abandon hope. Into the longboats, come on!" They all started to climb down the rope ladder and pile into the remaining lifeboat, not knowing when the Kraken would resurface. But Mulan stayed where she was. She was looking at Jack.
Jack brushed his hands along the wooden finishing of the rail. This was last time he would do it. When he remembered what he had gone through to get it back, what he had been willing to give when it sunk to the bottom of the ocean, he couldn't help but think this was an appropriate way for it to go out. "Jack." Jack turned and saw that Mulan was with him, smiling kindly. "Thank you."
He smiled himself. "We're not out of this yet, love."
"But you came back," she whispered, moving closer to him. "I knew you were a good man." And then she did something that not even Jack would expect.
She kissed him.
Full on the mouth she kissed him. Jack, initially taken by surprise, quickly found himself kissing her back, and they both found each other in a passionate embrace. She pressed him up against the mast, forcing her self against him. To say that Jack wasn't enjoying it would have been a boldfaced lie.
It was when Mulan shackled his arm to the mast that he stopped enjoying it.
"Jones is after you, not us," Mulan whispered, shaking to stop herself from breaking. "If you stay we'll be able to escape. Don't you see? We'll be able to go on and stop the Horned King and Maleficent, and restore my world." Jack didn't look angry, he didn't even look surprised. In fact...he was smiling. Tears were already forming in Mulan's eyes. "We didn't need you anyway, we never did. Y-You only joined us to further your own selfish ends. And you were never any help! You stole the map, left Sora for dead, all so you could save your own skin!" Dammit, why was he still smiling? "Why Jack?! Why would you do all this!?"
Jack Sparrow, still smiling, leaned in to whisper one word into her ear.
"Pirate."
Mulan closed her eyes tightly to stop anymore tears. She reached into Jack's pocket and took from him the golden sphere that was the map of the universe. She then ran off to join the others, leaving Jack to his fate, not once looking back.
"Where's Jack?" Sora asked as Mulan climbed down into the longboat.
Mulan quickly rubbed her eyes. "H-He said he's staying behind to give us time to escape."
"What?" Sora gasped standing up. "No, he can't!" He made for the ladder.
"What are you doing?!" Kairi cried grabbing his arm.
"Sora, no! You don't understand!" Mulan pleaded shaking her head.
"She's right, Sora," Will replied sternly. "If this is Jack's choice than we have to respect it. He gave us this time to escape."
"I do understand," Sora stated as he made for the ladder. "I can't let him do this. I just can't!"
"Sora, no! You'll get hurt!" Kairi cried, her eyes pleading with him to stay.
He grinned apologetically to her. "Don't worry about me. I always come through, don't I? I'll be back before you know it." With that he turned his back, and began to climb the ladder.
Kairi shook her head imploringly. Sora had made promises to her before and he had kept them. But this time...something didn't feel right. "No...," she whispered. "Sora." All the sudden a blinding pain struck her chest, and she clutched it.
"Kairi?" Elizabeth asked in shock. Kairi grasped her chest in pain, shutting her eyes tightly. Something within her Then they shot open, and they were glowing.
"Oh no, not again," Beast stammered.
Sora was about to climb another step, when someone gripped his arm tightly. He turned around, and met Kairi's lit gaze. "K-Kairi?" he gasped. Without warning she yanked him off the ladder with surprising strength and back into the longboat, then kicked it off as she clung onto the Pearl. "Kairi! No! What are you doing!?"
"No, lad!" Silver yelped, restraining Sora before he could leap into the water. "It's too late! She's gone! "
"Kairi! Kairi!" Sora kept shouting against Silver's metal choke hold. The others could only watch on in horror. Mulan buried her face in her hands. What had she done?
"Our prayers be with them," Silver muttered, just as tentacles began to slither from beneath the Black Pearl.
Jack needed more than prayers to get him out of this situation. "Bugger, bugger, bugger!" he growled repeatedly shaking his manacles. What he wouldn't give for his Keyblade right now! Fortunately Jack discovered other means. He took a nearby lantern and smashed it open, using the leaking oil to lubricate his shackle, allowing him to slip his hand out, albeit painfully. "AHA!"
A tentacle reached up and snidely tapped him on the shoulder.
Jack frowned and turned around, and gaped at the mouth of the fully emerged Kraken. It opened its mouth and ROARED, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth, spraying Jack with gallons of slime like a hose, the stench of a thousand unlucky sailors bombarding his senses all at once. When it was over, Jack calmly wiped the slime off his face. "That wasn't so bad." Something other than slime flew out of the Kraken's mouth and onto the deck. "Oh, fancy that!" he grinned, bending down to pick it up.
It was his hat.
Jack put his hat in its rightful place and grinned, looking back at the Kraken defiantly. He drew his sword, when suddenly something happened. His sword shone with light as it was unsheathed, and his Follow the Wind Keyblade was in his hands again. Jack grinned weakly at the irony. "Now you come back!" He brandished it and smiled, and turned back to the hungry monster. "Come on, ugly." The Kraken groaned hungrily and Captain Jack Sparrow, Keyblade shining in the daylight sun, charged into the abyss of its mouth.
A flash of red hair, and suddenly Jack wasn't alone. He blinked in astonishment. "Kairi?" he whispered. Kairi turned to her head to face him, and Jack recoiled at the ethereal glow in her eyes, when suddenly, she bolted for the Kraken. "Kairi! NO!" He quickly grabbed her and meant to throw her overboard to safety, but the Kraken was upon them, it's massive maw closing in. In the back of Jack's mind he was glad he was going where he was going, because Sora would've done something a lot worse to him for getting his girl in this situation. That was his last thought as he closed his eyes before he and Kairi were swallowed whole.
The survivors of the ship could only watch as the Kraken pulled the Black Pearl down to the ocean depths, all the way down to the crow's nest. As the last of it was dragged down, the beast suddenly lurched in pain. It gagged and spat and flailed about; a column of light burst from its skin. And another. And another. And then in a burst of radiance and with a painful shriek, it exploded. Kraken bits rained from the skies and whatever was left sank below the surface.
"Kairi...," Sora whispered in horror, tears filling his eyes. "KAIRI!"
Watching from afar, Davy Jones' telescope crumpled in his claw's grip, the last thing it had spied being his creature sinking into ocean, dead. "Jack Sparrow," he whispered spitefully. "Consider your debt repaid."
"Captain goes down with his ship," Sa'luk sneered contemptuously.
"Not even Jack Sparrow could best the Devil," Hammerhead chuckled humorlessly. Davy Jones scowled suddenly.
"Bring me the chest," he ordered.
"Captain?" Hammerhead questioned in surprise.
"Bring me the chest! I need to see it!" Jones snapped. His crew fearfully obliged, and soon the Dead Man's Chest was brought forward. He stared at it in disgust. In his slimy hand appeared his Keyblade, the only Keyblade that was able to open said chest, and tapped it. The lid opened...
Davy Jones' tentacles curled up tightly, his eyes flaring with rage, his breathing coming fast and forced, and his crew stumbled backwards for fear of his wrath.
For the chest was empty.
"Damn you," he snarled, literally shaking with rage. "Damn you, JACK SPARROW!"
KHKHKHKH
Lord Cutler Beckett sat gloomily at his desk as nothing seemed to be going his way these days. William Turner and his friend Sora had not returned, Elizabeth Swann had escaped from prison, and Jack Sparrow; well who knows where he or his compass were? "The last of our ships has returned," Mercer finished reporting to Beckett's growing disappointment. "We have no reported sightings of the Black Pearl or of Mister Turner."
"And the chest?" Beckett asked sighing, though the answer was already clear.
"Nothing," Mercer answered regrettably. "However, one of our ships did pick up a man adrift at sea. He was carrying these." Beckett raised his head when Mercer presented him with the letters of Marque, which had been stolen from his office a few days ago.
"I took the liberty of filling in my name." When his guards allowed former Commodore Norrington in, Beckett raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"I hope you have a reason for taking up my time."
"More of a bargain, really," Norrington replied, walking up to Beckett's desk.
"Then I trust you have something of value to trade," Beckett asked, folding his hands before him. "The compass?"
Norrington smiled smugly. "Better." And he tossed a small cloth rapped object onto the desk. Beckett stared at it, until it started beating. His eyes widened in hopeful realization, and he tore the cloth from the object. It was Davy Jones' still beating heart. Beckett's mouth expanded into a greedy smile.
"Thank you, Mister Norrington," he whispered gleefully, to which Norrington bowed gratefully. "You have down a great service to the Company. And your reward will be great. As will mine."
Norrington frowned in confusion. "Your reward?"
"Indeed." From the room opposite entered a creature that Norrington could only described as a literal monster. Grotesque horns grew from his head and his withered skin was hidden by a blood red robe that flowed behind him as he approached Beckett. Beckett stood from his desk and bowed his head respectfully, and presented him with the heart.
The Horned King's red eyes widened as he took hold of the beating heart, his decrepit mouth forming a malicious smile. He couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, something that quickly turned maniacal. Beckett himself couldn't stop smiling.
And Norrington was left wondering just what he had gotten himself into.
KHKHKHKH
Natives had gathered round as the survivors of the Black Pearl pulled into Tia Dalma's bayou in the longboats. They waded through the water, watched by the shore, even from the trees; all of them holding aloft lit candles in their hands, and humming softly. Some of them were even crying. It was an unspoken sendoff for Kairi and Jack Sparrow. The sight only made Sora all the sadder, but he appreciated the gesture none the less.
Inside Tia's hut, each of the group responded to the loss in different ways. Sora sat staring into the roaring fireplace. Will Turner drove his father's knife into a table. sonic sat cross-legged on the floor, frowning miserably. Jack Skellington was leaning against the windowsill looking outside, his normally cheerful persona burdened by grief. Aladdin was just outside the door, looking out over the bayou. po sniffed sadly, wiping his nose on his sleeve, and downed the drink Tia had provided him. Beast looked angrier than usual. Silver kept himself occupied by switching the many attachments to his arm, until he sighed and stroked his nose. Mulan sat alone on a chair, trying her hardest to hold back her tears, to keep back her guilt and shame. Gibbs, Pintel and Ragetti were also there to partake in the grieving.
"It is a sad time in the world," Tia muttered contemptuously as she handed out hot drinks. "When two of the greatest lights have been snuffed out."
"I...I let her down," Sora whispered dreadfully, clenching his fist. "It's all my fault. What am I gonna tell Riku?" He shut his tightly and clenched his jaw. "Why did she do it? I just don't understand!"
"The same reason you risked your life for her," Elizabeth told him soothingly. "She didn't want you to get hurt. She was only thinking about you. It's not your fault, Sora."
"After all, who could have seen coming what Jack did?" Aladdin said as he came back inside.
"Never thought I'd see the day when I'd be sad that Jack died," sonic commented dourly.
"He was a liar!" Beast growled. "He was a thief! He was a nuisance! He was a...pirate!" All of his anger washed away as he sighed sadly. "And I'm gonna miss him." Mulan hid her face before they could see her guilt ridden face.
"It only just happened," Gibbs whispered, smiling to himself sadly. "And already the world seems a little less bright."
"Until now I didn't know how to grieve," Jack Skellington noted sorrowfully, touching his chest idly. "I don't like it. It feels empty..."
"What does it matter?" Will spat grimly, stabbing the knife in the table again. "Jack and Kairi are gone, and so's the heart. Along with any chance of freeing my father."
"I never thought that I'd lose a friend," po sniffed glumly, clenching his eyes. "Nit this soon. Not like this."
Silver wiped his nose. "To Kairi and Jack Sparrow!" he cried, raising his drink in their honour. "The bravest fools I ever did see!"
"Aye, courage of lions!" Pintel agreed.
"None more favorable than the two of them!" Ragetti put in, his eye falling out as he raised his mug.
Mulan didn't say anything as she drank from her mug. What could she say? Nothing would help. She stood up and dared to approach Sora, and leaned down to his level. "If there was anything that could be done to bring them back, I would do it," she whispered. "We all would." No one else had to say anything to know it was true.
"Would you?"
All eyes turned to Tia Dalma. There was a glint in her eyes, and an answer behind her smile. "Would you truly do whatever it takes?"
Sora frowned in confusion. "What are you taking about?" he asked as he stood up.
"There be more than one way into Davy Jones Locker than through the mouth of the Kraken, young bearer of the Keyblade."
"Are you saying there's a way to get them back?" Aladdin asked in shock.
"Aye. They are not yet dead, but neither do they truly live. To a place of punishment they have gone, as all do who cross Davy Jones. And the way to get there is just as dangerous as being pulled in. But only one question remains... would you truly do it? Would you sail to the end of this world and beyond, put everything on the line, to be reunited with your lost Princess of Heart and witty Jack Sparrow?"
Sora's Keyblade appeared in his anticipation. "Of course I would," he whispered.
"If he's going, I'm going too!" Will declared, still grasping his fathers knife.
"And so am I!" Elizabeth announced soon after.
"You don't even have to ask," sonic smirked.
"You helped me before, Sora. Now it's my turn," Aladdin told him.
"Jack doesn't get to die yet," Beast chuckled, his smile showing his fangs.
"You're not gonna leave me out of the fun, are you?" Jack Skellington asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"An adventure to end em' all!" Gibbs chuckled.
"Aye, for Captain Jack and Miss Kairi!" Pintel declared.
"Save em', we will!" Ragetti put in, popping his wooden eye back in place.
"Aye, count me in!" Silver laughed, chugging the rest of his drink
"Let's go get our friends back!" po cheered pumping his fist.
Mulan wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and smiled. "Yeah..."
Sora smiled thankfully at all his friends. "Alright," he said and he turned back to a smiling Tia. "What do we do next?"
"Very well, then!" Tia laughed. "But if you're going to brave the weird and haunted shores at World's End, then you will need yourself a guide. A captain who knows those treacherous waters." She turned to the steps leading to the upper level of her hut, where the sound of someone descending was heard. Everyone else curiously turned their gaze to the stairs. Someone was coming to meet them.
Elizabeth's hands shot to her mouth. Pintel and Ragetti hugged each other in fear. Gibbs' mouth fell open in horror. Will's eyes flared anger. Sora's eyes widened in disbelief.
"So tell me," Captain Hector Barbossa chuckled, his un-dead monkey leaping onto his shoulder chattering happily. "What's become of my ship?" He bit hungrily into a shiny green apple, laughing as the juices flowed down his mouth, his monkey laughing along with him.
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!